1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a harness routing structure that is used, for example, between a sliding door and a vehicle body of a vehicle such as an automobile or the like.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-151372, filed May 24, 2005, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
In some vehicles equipped with a sliding door, the sliding door can be opened and closed by using electric power. In such a sliding door, harnesses for a power supply and sensors must be routed between the vehicle body and the sliding door. When routing the harnesses, the harnesses are protected by providing a harness guide that retains the harnesses. The harness guide is provided because the profile of the harnesses, or specifically, the routing configuration, changes as the sliding door is opened and closed (refer, for example, to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2004-25999).
In the conventional technology described above, a harness guide is used that provides flexibility by linking a plurality of freely rotating pieces so that the routing configuration of the harnesses that follow the movable sliding door does not become needlessly deformed. However, because the curvature direction and the installation angle of the harness guide are restricted due to the ends of the harness guide being attached respectively to the sliding door and the vehicle body, there are problems in that it is necessary to secure by an equivalent amount a large routing area for the harness guide, in particular in the outward transverse direction of the vehicle, and in that the layout for the harness routing becomes difficult.